The Best #1 NBA Draft Picks of All Time

With the 2007 NBA draft nearing, fans of Portland are buzzing about the potential of the number one overall prospect they will have for next year. To be thought of as a success, however, Greg Oden or Kevin Durant have their work cut out for them. Not surprisingly, the first pick has generated more than it's fair share of generational superstars. But just who does this year's prospects have to beat out to make the top ten number one picks of all time?

Determining the top ten number one picks throughout the NBA's history was not as easy as it may seem. The top of the pile was full of Hall of Fame players who had gained both personal and team success during their long careers. To fairly judge each player, we will look at six different factors; playoff success, All-NBA selections, All-Star selections, MVP awards won, longevity, and team impact. Yao Ming and LeBronJames were omitted for consideration because they have only played for five or less years in the NBA.

Playoff success refers to the number of NBA Finals reached by a player and the number of subsequent championships won. The point system was weighted so that rings meant more than appearances. All-NBA selections simply gave credit for making the 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd All-NBA teams. Obviously, 1^st All-NBA team selections were more impressive than 3^rd team selections.

All-Star appearances simply were taken at face value. On the other hand, MVP awards took into consideration, with extensive research, years in which players finished 2^nd or 3^rd in the MVP voting as well as the ones in which they finished 1^st. This allowed for a more comprehensive analysis of the player's impact on the league throughout his career.

Longevity was another important factor that was based on the number of games missed per season. No matter how good a player is, he cannot be all that a team wants if he is spending half of each season on the disabled list. Finally, team impact looks at each player's impact on his team once drafted from an opinionated view.

All of these factors are weighted equally together and have created the following list:

10. Allen Iverson - Although recent seasons have brought about struggles, injuries, and controversy with Iverson, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that he is one of the best scorers of all-time in the NBA. Scoring nearly twenty-eight points a game for his career, Iverson had a chance to be much higher on this list but lost it by alienating teammates, coaches, and fans throughout his career.

Indeed that same attitude can be seen as a major factor in Iverson's lack of team success. Allen has never won a championship and has only been to the NBA Finals once in his career. His 2001 MVP award reflects the one year he played terrific on all ends of the floor. But one great season and ten good ones just doesn't cut it on this list.

Iverson is one of three players on this list that are still active in the NBA. If he can turn his game around and win a championship with his new team in Denver, he might just move up this list. But AI should be careful to remember that young hopefuls such as LeBron James and Yao Ming are waiting in the wings.

9. James Worthy - Worthy may not have the individual accolades of most players on this list, but his impact was well made on the Lakers throughout his career. With three championships and seven NBA Finals appearances, there is no doubt that Worthy benefited from the goodwill of Magic Johnson and Kareem throughout his career. But it can be argued that without their clutch shooting guard, the Lakers may not have achieved such playoff success.

The simply fact was that Worthy was the mark of consistency in his role as the third option on the Lakers. He rarely, if ever, missed games during the season and he found himself on the All-Star squad seven times during his twelve-year career.

While James didn't have nearly the impact on his team that Iverson did, his reliability and sustained excellence on a great team gives him the nod at nine.

8. Patrick Ewing - For all his accomplishments and accolades throughout his career, Patrick Ewing always seemed to get the short end of the stick. First he had to go through the talented Eastern Conference, with Michael Jordan, every year. Then when he finally got to the Finals in 1994, John Starks gave the series away to Houston.

It is somewhat surprising that a player of Ewing's caliber fell so far on this list, but that just speaks volumes to the amount of talent selected number one overall. Patrick was rarely a first-team All-NBA player and he never contended for a MVP award. Add in the fact that he never won a championship and number eight is the right position for the Georgetown product.

7. David Robinson - The major factor in the Admiral's drop on this list was the fact that he never achieved postseason success before the Spurs were given Tim Duncan as well. That aside, the numbers speak for themselves for Robinson. Ten All-NBA selections, twelve All-Star games played in, two championships, and he was considered a top-three MVP candidate five times.

Beyond the awards, however, is a player who took the franchise of the San Antonio Spurs and carried them for years. A player who will forever be remembered as the original catalyst to the modern-day dynasty-hopeful Spurs team.

Robinson may not be very high on this list, but the team that drafted him certainly should feel that they got everything they could have hoped for out of him.

6. Elgin Baylor - The only disappointment of Baylor's terrific career was his lack of a championship ring. Despite making the final series eight times during his career, the Lakers were turned away year after year. Only in his final season, in which he was forced to retire midway through the regular season, did his team win the championship.

Bittersweet memories of postseason failure should not harm Elgin's status as one of the best players of all time, however. His ten 1^st team All-NBA selections lead all number one overall picks and he was consistently one of the best players in the league during his playing career.

Take away the Boston Celtics, the team that kept beating his Lakers, and Baylor may be two or three on this list. As it stands now, Elgin was one of the best players on a very good team for his entire career and one of the best number one picks of all time.

5. Hakeem Olajuwon - The Dream is a fitting player to start the top-five. Famously known as the player drafted before Michael Jordan, along with Sam Bowie, Hakeem added two championships to ease the pain of the Rockets. He also picked up twelve All-NBA selections, eleven All-Star appearances, and a MVP award.

The fact of the matter is that Hakeem foresaw an immediate turnaround in the Rockets. The team never had a losing record during his tenure and he became an iconic figure for all Houston fans. The Rockets may have missed out on MJ, but they didn't end up losing out on much by drafting a superstar of their own.

4. Oscar Robertson - The king of triple-doubles, Oscar Robertson was an iconic presence of the game in the 1960s. Although he won only one championship during his career, Oscar destroyed all the notions of how the point-guard position could be played and paved the way for Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd in the NBA.

The big "O" was mostly only known for his season in which he averaged a triple-double. But Oscar was a great player for much more than one year. He made the All-NBA 1^st team nine times, second only to Elgin Baylor. He also was a MVP considerate five times, winning the award once.

Beyond the known awards, however, is a player who scored everywhere, rebounded everything, and made plays no one else could. A player who was by far the best at his position for his entire career. And a player who deserves to be number four on this list.

3. Shaquille O'Neal - From the moment Shaq became a professional NBA player, he redefined the game. He was the best center of his era without any doubt at all. Fifteen straight All-Star games says it all.

The main problem with Shaq is his nagging injury problems. Look at his career games played list and it becomes apparent that O'Neal has never really been healthy throughout his long stay in the NBA. Most of his seasons, it would be lucky if he were able to play in sixty-seventy games. The fact that Shaquille only has four rings, despite playing with a stud shooting guard in every spot he arrived in, is also hard to believe.

Still, O'Neal has had a Hall of Fame career and made an impact on all three teams he made stops at. Taking three different squads to the NBA Finals is no small task, but Shaq did it.

2. Tim Duncan - Look at Duncan's various awards, accomplishments, and impacts and one would think that his career was over. But Duncan has only been in the NBA for ten seasons, amazingly enough, and already has enough ammunition to be the 2^nd best player ever drafted number one overall.

It may be true that Duncan's style of play is boring. This same style of play, however, has earned Duncan three championships, working on four, two MVPs, nine All-Star games and eight All-NBA 1^st team selections. Most amazing of all is his durability. His average of only 4.2 games missed per season not only leads all big men on this list, but all players overall.

As it stands now, Duncan is one of the best players to ever play in the NBA. With four or five more productive seasons, Tim will be in consideration for the best player every drafted number one. For now, however, NBA fans should just enjoy the fact that they can still watch a living legend play the game the way it should be played.

1. Magic Johnson - As good as everyone else on this list is, no one was better than Magic Johnson. It wasn't even a close contest. Magic reached nine NBA Finals during his career as the focal player on a very good team. He won five championships during that span. Both numbers are the most for any player on this list.

Magic also was three-time MVP and a nine-time considerate for the award. Again, both were most among any player considered for this list. Starting to see a trend?

Johnson was a versatile point-guard who could, and did, play any of the five positions on the floor. He had great personal and team success throughout his time in the NBA and his numbers would be even more amazing if not for a bout with the HIV virus. There is no question that, for now, Magic Johnson was the best top pick of all time.